Many conventional bulk fuel distribution facilities include system components that are unique because of the application or end-use of the fuel distribution facility. For example a fuel distribution facility for supplying fuel to aircrafts may have fuel blending operations that are quite different, and hence unique, relative to another fuel distribution facility that may be designed for supporting automobile fuels. The different end use operations or applications for each fuel distribution facility may require unique hardware and software that can only be used for the end-use or application of the fuel distribution facility.
The unique hardware and software that may be needed to support fuel operations of a fuel distribution facility may be manufactured by different vendors relative to the owner of the fuel distribution facility. For example, tank level instruments for monitoring fuel inventory may be manufactured by a first party while carrier stations for receiving fuel distribution orders or requests may be made by a second party that is different from the first party and that is different from the fuel distribution facility operator. These different hardware vendors may provide only direct communication links or instrumentation to their software or hardware for monitoring by the owner/operators of the fuel distribution facility. In some rare cases, the hardware vendors may permit their software or hardware (or both) to connect with a common interface or bus that may be accessed by software and hardware manufactured by other vendors.
This segmentation of fuel system components made by various vendors can lead to inefficient operation of a bulk fuel distribution facility. The operator of the bulk fuel distribution facility may only be provided with separate instruments or separate control lines or buses that are coupled to each respective different vendor hardware. It may be difficult for the operator of the fuel distribution facility to collect data as well as monitor all operations of the various vendor components of the bulk fuel distribution facility.
In those cases in which vendors permit their specific hardware or software to link up with a common interface or bus, it may also prove difficult for the operator of the fuel distribution to identify malfunctioning system components that may be coupled to the common interface or bus. For example, a malfunctioning tank level instrument coupled to a common bus may cause a pump valve also coupled to the common bus to operate at an unscheduled time. In such a scenario, the operator of the bulk fuel distribution facility may be need to check both the tank level instrument and the pump valve for errors if it appears that both hardware items are not operating correctly. This leads to an inefficiency because only one system component, such as the tank level instrument, may have an error or problem while the other system component coupled to the tank level instrument, such as a pump valve, may be operating without any flaws.
Another problem associated with the operation of bulk fuel distribution facilities is when a multi-site operator desires to collect operational or routine data from various different bulk fuel distribution facilities. A multi-site operator usually needs to make a physical visit to a fuel distribution facility in order to gather data from various system components that make up a particular bulk fuel distribution facility. Alternatively, a multi-site operator may request a local site operator to track down and transmit system component performance or error data to the multi-site operator. This tracking and transmission of performance or error data by local sites operators can often be time consuming and can include inaccuracies due to human error.
While some efforts have been made in the prior art to eliminate human errors by automating some aspects of bulk fuel distribution facilities, the prior art does not provide any method or system for diagnosing or checking performance or operations of a bulk fuel distribution facility. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,515 issued in the name of Diamond et al. on Apr. 9, 2002 provides a bulk terminal automation system for automating and coordinating delivery operations of bulk shipping terminals located at a bulk fuel distribution facility. This patent is mainly concerned with monitoring bulk shipping terminals, transferring loading and inventory data to a central server, and formatting the data at the central server in response to a user requests or according to user selected data formats.
Accordingly, there is need in the art for centralized management, monitoring, and troubleshooting of system components of a bulk fuel distribution facility. There is a need in the art for a method or system for integrating the monitoring of system components made by different hardware vendors and detecting errors or potential problems (or both) in the system components of bulk fuel distribution facilities. There is also a need in the art for centralized management of multiple bulk fuel distribution facilities in which data for multiple bulk fuel distribution facilities can be stored in a single location such as a central database.